Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nairobi and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Nairobi: $858 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Nairobi
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Nairobi Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Nairobi

🇰🇪 Kenya

$858

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nairobi and in Lisbon

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Nairobi and in Lisbon actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $858 in Nairobi versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

Nairobi $858
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,405 in Nairobi versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

Nairobi $1,405
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,952 in Nairobi versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

Nairobi $1,952
Lisbon $4,319

Living in Nairobi costs roughly 61% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Nairobi is 36% below, Lisbon is 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.34 KES 822

$16.50 €14.67

-61.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.07 KES 4,417

$61.3 €54.5

-44.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.41 KES 831

$11.27 €10.03

-43.12%

Cappuccino

$2.65 KES 344

$3.06 €2.72

-13.40%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.63 KES 81.3

$2.26 €2.01

-72.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.60 KES 78.3

$1.73 €1.54

-65.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.27 KES 295

$3.39 €3.02

-33.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 KES 361

$3.40 €3.02

-18.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.89 KES 116

$1.12 €1.00

-20.54%

White Bread (500g)

$0.56 KES 73.0

$1.86 €1.65

-69.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.90 KES 247

$1.53 €1.36

24.18%

Eggs

$1.72 KES 223

$3.96 €3.53

-56.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.83 KES 1,404

$12.76 €11.35

-15.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.52 KES 846

$7.90 €7.02

-17.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.38 KES 827

$16.97 €15.09

-62.40%

Apples (1kg)

$3.32 KES 431

$2.27 €2.02

46.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.10 KES 143

$1.75 €1.55

-37.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.04 KES 265

$1.85 €1.64

10.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.10 KES 142

$2.57 €2.28

-57.20%

Potato (1kg)

$1.06 KES 137

$1.86 €1.65

-43.01%

Onion (1kg)

$1.05 KES 136

$2.02 €1.80

-48.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.74 KES 95.8

$1.44 €1.28

-48.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.79 KES 102

$0.82 €0.73

-3.66%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.48 KES 451

$6.56 €5.83

-46.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.64 KES 1,510

$5.62 €5.00

107.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.21 KES 286

$1.28 €1.14

72.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 KES 368

$2.07 €1.84

37.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.77 KES 100

$2.35 €2.09

-67.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$46.01 KES 5,965

$44.18 €39.30

4.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.56 KES 202

$3.99 €3.55

-60.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.52 KES 198

$1.09 €0.97

39.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.96 KES 383

$16.64 €14.81

-82.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 KES 201

$2.28 €2.03

-32.02%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$21.9K KES 2.8M

$33.7K €30.0K

-34.94%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$20.3K KES 2.6M

$39.3K €35.0K

-48.39%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$55.1 KES 7,145

$167 €149

-67.10%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$15.13 KES 1,962

$18.80 €16.72

-19.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.54 KES 4,478

$33.09 €29.43

4.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.1 KES 6,500

$46.01 €40.93

8.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.50 KES 2,010

$19.19 €17.07

-19.23%

Cinema Ticket

$7.57 KES 982

$9.84 €8.75

-23.07%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$251 KES 32.5K

$677 €602

-62.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.4K KES 1.6M

$16.9K €15.1K

-26.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$27.61 KES 3,580

$101 €90.1

-72.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.05 KES 3,766

$45.76 €40.70

-36.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.0 KES 9,205

$100.0 €88.9

-28.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.2 KES 7,679

$123 €109

-51.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$440 KES 57.0K

$1,614 €1,436

-72.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$214 KES 27.8K

$1,197 €1,065

-82.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,111 KES 144.1K

$2,862 €2,545

-61.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$499 KES 64.7K

$1,990 €1,770

-74.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,324 KES 171.7K

$7,577 €6,740

-82.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$912 KES 118.3K

$4,307 €3,831

-78.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$480 KES 62.2K

$1,588 €1,412

-69.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

14.71

3.85

282.08%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Nairobi: October 12, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Nairobi

$214 25%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9% 458% $983

Groceries & Markets

Nairobi

$208 24.2%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 29.6% $62

Eating Out

Nairobi

$124 14.4%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 95.9% $119

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nairobi

$105 12.2%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 109% $115

Clothing & Footwear

Nairobi

$84 9.8%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 97.8% $82

Sport & Entertainment

Nairobi

$65 7.6%

Lisbon

$66 3% 0.6% $0.4

Getting Around

Nairobi

$58 6.8%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 8.1% $4.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $440 in Nairobi and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 231% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $34.00 in Nairobi vs $61.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $208 vs $269 per month, with Nairobi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇪 Nairobi

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

21:26 9:26 PM

19:26 7:26 PM

2 h behind Nairobi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,138,295 Capital

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 KES = 7.71 USD

1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to KES – Kenyan Shilling Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇪 Kenyan Shilling (Sh)

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.71 USD). 1 EUR = 146 KES (1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to KES in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Nairobi Lisbon 6,460 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Nairobi
Lisbon

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Nairobi vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nairobi and Lisbon differ by about 159% in total monthly costs ($858 vs $2,223 including rent). Nairobi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 231% lower in Lisbon. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $440 in Nairobi versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $251 in Nairobi versus $677 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 30% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $858 in Nairobi versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Nairobi but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Nairobi the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Nairobi and Lisbon are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Nairobi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 159% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.